Wow! What an epically energetic, productive, enthralling, emotional, and challenging experience it has been since arrival day in Copenhagen, all to say the least. I’ve only been here a week, yet so much has happened that it feels like a crazy, but wonderful dream.

From day one, it was apparent that Copenhagen is a vibrant city buzzing with activity and driven by goals of sustainability, health, and, of course, personal happiness. These three characteristics are what immediately jumped out at me as uniquely Copenhagen, and it was an eye-opening experience to explore how the city centers around these goals. Copenhagen is known for being one of the most eco-conscious cities in the world – and it was no shocker as to why. Copenhagen has set ambitious carbon-neutral goals that they hope to have implemented by the end of the decade, and you can see these goals reflected in their culture by just going about your daily life. As your flight descends into the Copenhagen Airport, you can see large, white wind turbines spinning in the waters of the Øresund. Denmark is a strong proponent of clean, renewable energy, and I’ve been told that wind and solar power make up almost 50% of electricity in Denmark.

Waste separation is also a huge thing in Copenhagen, and our apartment had bins for us to separate metal, plastic, paper, cardboard, compost, glass, and “pant.” In the grocery stores, a lot of people supply their own bags, and when I went to shops, I was often asked if I wanted to buy a bag. The first few days, I ended up carrying a lot of things in my hands out of shame for not bringing my own bag. Thrifting is also pretty common.

Copenhagen is also very health-conscious from my observations as well. All the grocery stores, from the cheaper to more expensive, are required to distribute the same quality of food. So even though some grocery stores may have cheaper prices, the quality of food is still set at the same high standard as the expensive stores. The difference between the cheaper and the more expensive stores are the larger selection of food, including a lot of food-sensitive items. The city is also extremely active. There are more bikes on the streets than cars in Copenhagen, and there are bike lanes on every street. I rented a bike the first couple of days after arriving, and I love the freedom, exercise, and views of the city that the bike life provides! In total, I’ve probably biked and walked anywhere from 3-5 hours every day so far. The consistent exercise, value in nature and green spaces, good food, “livable” wages, seemingly fair education system, and much, much more, make it easy to see why Copenhagen is known for being the happiest city in the world.